Vol. 1/6 ✅️
"Your future - it is a path entwined with thorns. They try to grab you, to pull you into the deepest thicket - and they will succeed. You don't have the power to change your destiny completely, Larkpaw. The only thing you can do is not t...
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Larkpaw crouched on the ground, her body rigid with concentration and her gaze fixed straight ahead on a single target. Slowly, she put one paw forward and let it land on the ground again as gently as possible. My success determines the survival of the Clan.
But she felt Silversky's watchful gaze burning into her dark pelt, and that was exactly what made her nervous. Larkpaw was determined not to be dissuaded.
One day I will belong to the Hunters' Circle.
So far, Larkpaw had only hunted alone three times, otherwise she had always killed her prey in a group hunt. She had to admit that it was much more relaxed this way and the danger of their prey escaping was also reduced quite a bit.
It was a vole scurrying around under the bushes - pitiful and small, but every fresh-kill counted.
Larkpaw started to jump. The next moment she felt the vole's warm, fragile body and slammed her fangs into its neck.
Bliss flowed through Larkpaw. It wasn't often that she was able to kill her prey so smoothly. More often than not, it got away from her.
With her catch in her mouth, Larkpaw ran back to Silversky.
"That was really good," he meowed. "You've improved a lot compared to the last few times."
Larkpaw twitched her ears, pleased with the praise. "I think I'm starting to get a feel for it."
In the beginning, she was also terribly nervous about her hunting trips. After all, Silversky belonged to the Hunters' Circle, and she didn't want to embarrass herself. Fortunately, he always sympathised with her and was always willing to explain even the simplest things to her several times.
"Now you should be ready for the next part," Silversky decided.
Larkpaw's mood immediately sank to where the roots grew. Part of her training was to regularly train together with cats she rarely interacted with. She was put into a group with Cloverleaf, Smallblotch and Chestnutstripe. All she knew was that Cloverleaf and Smallblotch stuck together like two burrs and did everything together, and that Chestnutstripe followed the warrior code to the letter and planned every single step exactly according to it.
As she trotted up the hill with Silversky back to the rest of the patrol, she suddenly felt the pulling urge to look behind. The RoseClan apprentice whirled around.
Nothing was to be seen. Strange. I could have sworn there was something there.
She decided not to worry about it any more. She had definitely become more skittish, but no RoseClan cat had been found in the same condition as Fernpool since the last Gathering.
Gooseleap, the leader of the patrol, twitched his ears expectantly as Larkpaw and Silversky came over the ridge. "Is she ready?"
"She is." Silversky nodded, making Larkpaw want to shout no.
